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Ninja250R; sucky to work on, or suckiest?

No matter the bike, I get frustrated by the crap metal used for fasteners. We can put a man on the moon but can't build a bike that is easy to service and has robust bits and pieces.
 
Burning1 said:
But, for routine service stuff, the Ninja 250R is way worse.
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Funny my impression from a lot of stuff on the Ninja 250 has been just the opposite Chris?

The one that really impressed me was the air cleaner!

Three allen-head screws accessible on the right side of the bike, from the outside, hold the airbox cover in place. Cover pulls off and air cleaner slides right out from a slot that it rides in within the airbox. About a 2 minute job, tops!

Foam filter element that's cleaned in solvent, oiled back up, and installed. Zero cost for maintenance. The thought that the engineers put into that design was very cool, and atypical for most motorcycles these days. :thumbup
 
For a long time there was a clacking sound in my engine. Had a couple shops say the valves and lifters should be checked, and the only way to even check them was to remove the engine. When I had to replace the stator, since I had to remove the engine anyway, I went ahead and took a look at the valves. As it turned out, they were fine and the actual issue was with the cam chain tensioners (known issue with Vulcan 750s that I didn't know about for the first 6 years I owned the damn bike!).
 
I recently bought a bike...an 81 GL500. I seem to attract the things, but they're entertaining little bikes, so I can live with that.

The thing about these bikes is valve checks are 2 minutes. Oil changes are similarly quick and easy.

But if the stator or water pump fails, you have to drop the engine and split the cases to fix it. The downsides of a transverse V-twin, I suppose...

In my mind, maintenance is generally about compromise. You'll have some jobs that are pretty easy, some that are moderately hard, and some that are fiendishly difficult or messy. It's just a matter of which ones you have to do when that determines how easy or hard the bike feels to work on.
 
I'd like to recommend a sentence of -5 hours of motorcycle repair manual reading- for this egregious technical error! What do you think guys? :laughing


Anyway, back on topic-

Chris- I don't find the EX's annoying to work on at all- Much less so than other machines.. Look up how to pull the carbs on the old honda CB 6cyl..


DaveT319 said:
Yeah, I know, I misspoke. Someone else said about adjusting valves and the word stuck. I meant check them.
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Weird...Top Shelf only charged my like $160 to do a valve check, said it wasn't too bad...then again...on a Ducati Desmosedici, you have to remove the engine for almost all engine work, and on a Triumph 675R, there isn't enough room to stick a finger let alone do any type of work...I personally love working on our 250Rs...
key is: Remove all the crap you don't need...i.e. KLEEN system, etc...makes for much freer engine work...
 
Never done the CB 6cyl, but the carbs were kind of a pain on the new gen bike.

There doesn't appear to be any way to remove the airbox without completely disassembling it and removing it a piece at a time out of the frame. It was easier to remove the battery, unscrew the battery box, remove the left intake boot, left fairing mount, and squeeze the carbs out of the bike through the left side of the frame.
 
Sudco sells Keihin round slide CR carbs for that thing for around $400. :teeth

I like working on mine. Seat's held on with a clip. Rear gas tank bolt is a stud with a clip & a quick fuel disconnect; the tank pops off faster than I can say- supercalafraglisticexpialidocious tadaaa :laughing

Yank off the pods and carbs pop right out for rejetting. It doesn't get simpler than that. I hate those bastard CV carbs though, I'm stuck w/those.

I say loose the air box, loose the crappy CV's and get some proper carbs..

The CB6 requires the engine be removed to service the carbs.



Burning1 said:
Never done the CB 6cyl, but the carbs were kind of a pain on the new gen bike.

There doesn't appear to be any way to remove the airbox without completely disassembling it and removing it a piece at a time out of the frame. It was easier to remove the battery, unscrew the battery box, remove the left intake boot, left fairing mount, and squeeze the carbs out of the bike through the left side of the frame.
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Oh, nice on dropping the engine. :)

It's intended to be a production racebike next season. Removing the airbox isn't an option, sadly. :)
 
Chris, you wanna just buy one that's already set up? Got some nice goodies on it and a pile of spares. I'm selling mine after next round.
 
One of the things I like the most about ninjettes is how easy they are to work on lol
 
oaklandish said:
One of the things I like the most about ninjettes is how easy they are to work on lol
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Your 02 is way easier to wrench on than one of the newer bikes. But, the GS500 is a dream compared to either. I can nearly do a valve adjustment over lunch on that thing.
 
Burning1 said:
Your 02 is way easier to wrench on than one of the newer bikes. But, the GS500 is a dream compared to either. I can nearly do a valve adjustment over lunch on that thing.
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Actually Chris, on the new-gen ('08 >) Ninja 250 I can completely pull the carbs and have them on the bench in less than 20 minutes. Including pulling the bodywork to gain access. :)

Just have to know exactly what tools are needed, have them staged/ready, know what items do and don't need to be removed, and the exact order to take things apart. :thumbup
 
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